Nude backyard sunbather takes plea deal in lewdness case

FARMINGTON, Utah (AP) — A 77-year-old Utah man charged with lewdness after sunbathing nude in his backyard agreed to a plea deal Tuesday that keeps his record clean as long as he wears a swimsuit.

Myron Lee Kipp pleaded guilty to two misdemeanor charges in Farmington. But under the terms of the deal with prosecutors, the pleas won't be recorded if Kipp stays covered over the next year.

"He'll still sunbathe, but he'll wear his one-piece swimsuit," said his lawyer, Bill Albright.

Kipp has been taking in the sun in the buff for 30 years, often falling asleep in his backyard, and it wasn't a problem until new neighbors moved in, Albright said.

Last year, police said children could see the nude Kipp from a church parking lot behind his house, which has a chain-link fence without privacy slats and is located about 20 miles north of Salt Lake City. When an officer approached him, Kipp said he could do what he wanted in his own backyard, according to court records.

He was arrested and charged with seven misdemeanor counts of lewdness, four involving a child. The case appeared headed for a trial that would have taken the jury on a trip to see the house. At one point, an arrest warrant was mistakenly issued for Kipp after an incorrect docket entry stated that he had missed a court date.

The trial was canceled last week.

Kipp wore a T-shirt with a green argyle pattern with jeans at a St. Patrick's Day court appearance Tuesday. He nodded and answered affirmatively in response to a judge's questions, and confirmed his plea wasn't given under the influence by saying, "I don't drink, smoke or anything else."

A search of Utah court records shows only a single traffic ticket, more than a decade old, on Kipp's record before the lewdness charges.

He said Tuesday that he's glad to have the case behind him, though he politely declined further questions.

Judge David Connors also imposed $250 in court fees. He set a new court date to review the case for June, and another for next March.